Senior Citizen Concession: Earlier, special concession in fare was given to senior citizens by Indian Railways, which has been closed for the last few years. There is often talk about restoring it. Let us know about it in detail.
Bullet train project reviewed
Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav talked about this in Ahmedabad on Friday. He was on a visit to Ahmedabad to review the ongoing work on the Bullet Train Project. During this, he was asked about the discount in railway fares given to senior citizens and recognized journalists. When asked, the Union Minister did not answer directly, but his indirect answer was no. On the question of discount, he said that all train passengers are already getting 55 percent discount in fare.
Exemption ended after Covid
Let us tell you that before Covid-19, senior citizens and accredited journalists used to get special discount of 50 percent in railway fares. During the Corona epidemic, there was a need to impose lockdown in the country. During that time, for the first time in history, even the wheels of trains in the country stopped. Train services gradually resumed later and were fully restored in June 2022. However, when railway operations became normal again, the fare concession given to senior citizens and recognized journalists was abolished.
Railway Minister’s statement on subsidy
The Central Government has already made its stand clear many times, which shows that senior citizens will hardly get any discount in rail fares. The Railway Minister reiterated the same argument of the government this time too that all railway passengers are getting 55 percent discount on fares. He has also said earlier that if the cost of a train ticket on any route is Rs 100, then only Rs 45 is being charged by the Railways, that is, every passenger is being given a discount of Rs 55 on a ticket of Rs 100. .
This figure was told in Lok Sabha
The Railway Minister had told in the Lok Sabha in November last year that in 2019-20, the Railways had given a subsidy of Rs 59,387 crore on passenger tickets. He had said that subsidy on passenger fares is still being given by the Railways. He had then said that the subsidy given by the Railways amounts to 53 percent of the fare of every passenger.
Savings worth thousands of crores of rupees
Railways is making huge savings by stopping the concessions given to senior citizens. Last year, Railways had given this information in response to an RTI. Railways had said that during March 30, 2020 to March 31, 2022, it earned Rs 3,464 crore from senior citizens. This also includes additional savings of Rs 1,500 crore due to abolition of concession.
